BROOKLYN, Mich. -- It had been 13 years since Jeff Gordon's last victory at Michigan -- which came during the same season as his most recent championship on NASCAR's top series.

One of those droughts is finally over. Can the 43-year-old driver end the other as well?

"Certainly things are going well -- there's no doubt about that," Gordon said. "I'm as shocked as anybody else."

Gordon raced to his third Sprint Cup victory of the year, holding off Kevin Harvick on Sunday for his first win at Michigan International Speedway since 2001.

Gordon broke the track qualifying record Friday when he took the pole at 206.558 mph. He followed that up with his third Cup victory at MIS -- and took over the points lead from Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr.

After a series of cautions, Gordon came off the final restart well and led with 16 laps remaining. He fought off a challenge from Joey Logano and maintained a comfortable margin over Harvick, winning the 400-mile race by 1.412 seconds in his No. 24 Chevrolet.

Harvick was second, followed by Logano, Paul Menard and Earnhardt.

Gordon completed a sweep at MIS for Hendrick. Jimmie Johnson won the June race on the two-mile oval.

Logano was second to Gordon in qualifying. He led 86 laps and Gordon was in front for 68.

There were eight cautions, including a fairly early one when Danica Patrick's car spun and Justin Allgaier crashed into her. Nine cars were caught up in that incident, including Matt Kenseth's No. 20 Toyota.

Kenseth never really recovered, finishing 38th.

Brad Keselowski rubbed against the wall with about 32 laps remaining and finished eighth, remaining winless at this track in his home state. Johnson overcame some problems of his own to finish ninth, his first top-10 showing in six races.

Jeff Burton was 37th after replacing Tony Stewart in the No. 14 car. Stewart skipped his second straight Cup race after he struck and killed a driver at a dirt-track race in New York last weekend.

Gordon won for the 91st time on the Cup circuit, and this is his first three-win season since 2011. He took over the lead in the standings by three points over Earnhardt.

Gordon also won this season at Kansas and Indianapolis.

Assuming they attempt to qualify for the final three races of the regular-season, the 12 drivers with victories this season have all wrapped up spots in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Kenseth remains the top driver without a victory in the standings, but he dropped to fifth place. If the regular season ended now, the last four drivers in the Chase would be Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer and Greg Biffle.

Bowyer and Biffle both moved ahead of rookie Kyle Larson, whose car caught fire against the wall just before the halfway point. Larson ended up 43rd.

 

Kyle Larson, #42 Target Chevrolet, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
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